Boys golf: Hinsdale Central, Geneva, WW South qualify for state

There were anxious moments for the players and coaches of Wheaton Warrenville South and Neuqua Valley on Monday afternoon in Bristol.

The boys golf postseason is fraught with drama and uncertainty as the final scores trickle into the scoring area with a state berth on the line.

But in the end at the Class 3A Oswego sectional at Blackberry Oaks, WW South epitomized the difficulty of being beaten three times in the same season by a conference rival.

The Tigers, with four-time defending state champion Hinsdale Central and Geneva already comfortably in the fold with sub-300 team scores, earned the final team berth to the state tournament in Bloomington this weekend with a 303-305 victory over the Wildcats.

"You're never out of it," WW South coach Jimmy Selleck said after earning his second team trip to the state finals. "That's the game of golf. Keep your nose to the grindstone. You try and finish the best you can and believe in your guys."

Cooper Kohout fired a 1-over-par 73 to lead four Tigers with scores of 77 or better.

"When I shot 73, I knew I should get down individually," the junior said. "But I was hoping the whole team would get down. The whole atmosphere would be so much better."

Six of the 10 individual state qualifiers came from the area.

Austin Feldman and Jack Troy continued their blistering seasons in style.

Feldman, a Benet senior, was runner-up with a 71; Troy was the lone Waubonsie Valley athlete to qualify to the Den at Fox Creek this weekend with one of three level-par 72s.

"I knew I was in good shape (after a 2-under at the turn)," Feldman said. "I really putted well. I hit the ball pretty well."

Troy canceled out his black numbers with an equal number of red holes.

"I had 5 bogeys, 5 birdies," Troy said. "I knew scores were going to be very tough, considering it is one of the hardest sectionals to get out of as a team or individual."

Brendan O'Reilly is the four-year stalwart for Hinsdale Central; the Illinois-bound senior trumped a front-nine triple bogey with 6 birdies in firing a medalist 69.

"I didn't do anything really special," O'Reilly said after leading the Red Devils past Geneva 296-298. "I hit the right shots at the right time."

Jack Neenan, a Benet senior, and Neuqua Valley state veteran Jack Vercautren survived a five-man playoff for two spots to earn the last of the at-large bids.

Neenan chipped in for an eagle-2 to earn his meal ticket to central Illinois.

Neuqua Valley senior Thomas Huang was inside the cut line with his 74.

Glenbard West, Naperville North and Metea Valley were shut out of state qualifiers.

In the history of its decades-old program, Geneva had made only one state appearance before last season.

But the Vikings' magical season continued with a second consecutive state-qualifying performance.

Tyler Isenhart and Andrew Abel combined for a 1-over performance; Jack McDonald and Spencer Monroe fired respective rounds of 76 and 77 to power the Vikings' latest sterling tournament score.

"We all played pretty decent," said Isenhart, in a three-way tie for third at 72. "It was just a solid, solid round (for me)."

Abel was masterful on his opening nine in saving multiple pars before going a more conventional route on his inward nine for a 73.

"My short game got the job done (on the front)," Abel said. "(My back nine) was better than the front. I hit a lot more greens on the back. It was definitely a lot more solid on the back."

On his opening nine Abel converted a dangerous comebacker for par on the par-5 second.

The next three holes required 1-putt pars.

Abel threatened eagle on the par-5 seventh, only to settle for an unconventional 37 on his outward nine.

The other three local programs in the sectional field - St. Charles East, St. Charles North and Batavia - had their team seasons come to a close.

But St. Charles East, fifth at 311, had a major consolation prize in Mike Bertke and Connor King with matching 73s to earn individual bids.

Bertke was coming off a disastrous performance at the Geneva regional.

"Obviously I knew (the regional score) was not indicative of how I could actually play," Bertke said. "Today, compared to whatever that was, was drastically different - polar opposites."

Rob Prentiss had his nearly three-decade coaching run come to a close, but the St. Charles North mentor will still have emotional ties to the two-day state finals as his son, Casey, is a member of the downstate Geneva team.

Cam Marbach was the only Batavia player to break 80 to lead the Bulldogs.

Ryan Vanderway made sure 24-year-veteran Jay Bauer would earn his keep for the final two days of his West Aurora coaching career.

Only a sophomore, Vanderway, the two-time reigning Upstate Eight Valley MVP, had a half-dozen bogeys and a double bogey on his card.

But Vanderway was headed to state after birdies on one-third of his 18 holes en route to an unconventional 73.

"I was a little nervous coming into the day because I wanted (Bauer) to go to state one last time," Vanderway said. "I'm excited and happy for him. Coach settled me down."